Bobcat Basketball in Free Fall
By Danny Waldo
Your rivals are supposed to bring out the best in you.
Not in Montana State’s case.
Both Montana State’s men and women were recently drubbed by arch-rival Montana in Missoula, prolonging a season of misery for both programs as each limps to the end of the season and toward a certain early exit from the Big Sky Conference tournament in Reno, NV later this month.
Bobcat Men
For a squad that entered the season with its highest expectations in over a decade, the 2017-18 season has been a resounding dud, culminating with their recent 90-63 tail-kicking by the Grizzlies. With the loss, the Bobcats dropped to 6-10 in conference play after losing 10 of their last 12 contests.
And while MSU was competitive in their earlier loss to the Griz in Bozeman back in January, a game that was tied at the half before the ‘Cats faded late, this game was over almost from the moment MSU stepped off the bus. UM came out the aggressor and held the ‘Cats to just 19 first have points, MSU’s third lowest output of the season, and Grizzlies never allowed the Bobcats to get back into it.
Leading scorers Tyler Hall and Harald Frey were held to a combined 25 points, as MSU shot just 25 percent from the floor.
With just a pair of home league games versus Idaho State (March 1st) and Weber State (March 3rd) remaining on their, the Bobcats can finish no better than seventh heading into the league tourney.
The victory gave UM the lead in the all-time series, 149-148, but the recent history of the rivalry has been anything but competitive. Aside from last season’s regular-season ending victory by the Bobcats, the Grizzlies have won every Cat/Griz game in the series since 2011.
Following the most recent drubbing, that domination doesn’t appear to be ending anytime soon.
Bobcat Women
Much like their male counterparts, the Montana State women’s basketball team is in need of some soul-searching following their dismantling by in-state rival Montana, a 87-63 whooping.
For the two-time defending Big Sky Conference champions, their most recent loss has officially brought the women’s program back down to earth. However, unlike the men, the women were competitive for a good portion of the contest, trailing by just four at the break. But the wheels came off in the third quarter after UM held the Lady ‘Cats to just 11 points, while putting up 27 themselves.
While expectations were a bit tempered a bit this season following the graduation of Big Sky Conference Player of the Year, Peyton Ferris, the decline to mediocrity has been swifter than many would have expected.
MSU has now lost five of their last six conference games to slip to 8-8 in league play, one game behind UM heading into the final weekend of the regular season.
The ‘Cats go on the road versus Idaho State and Weber State in hopes of righting the ship in time for the conference tournament beginning later this month in Reno, NV.
